Trenton residents discuss nursing school plan for second time

TRENTON ­— Trenton residents met Wednesday with City Council and officials associated with the project allowing Thomas Edison State College to take over the Glen Cairn Arms property on West State and Calhoun streets.

The plan entails the college purchasing the property from the city for $300,000 with the expectation that the college will cover the cost to demolish the existing property which has been considered a Trenton eye-sore for 25 years, and be taken of the city’s property tax rolls.

Some residents at the meeting expressed concern over the arrangement, which college president George Pruitt found perplexing.

“I was surprised when this became so controversial,” Pruitt said. “We’re putting up $1.4 million into a property that has negative value, so I don’t feel like we’re taking advantage of the city here.”

Pruitt and other officials supporting the project touted that the school, which mostly conducts its classes online and not on-site, will bring in revenue to the city by the number of people the school attracts and that it may convince people to move into downtown Trenton, but some, like city councilwoman Kathy McBride, who compared the sales pitch for the college to the promises made for Sovreign Arena, Thunder Park and the Marriot Hotel.

“There have been so many bad deals that have left a burden on the taxpayers,” McBride said. “I don’t want to revisit this later as a nightmare.”

Should the city decide to reject the college’s offer, the school will still be built, just not on city property.